1. Chapter 12
Sections 1 & 2
This is the city of Florence, Italy. The Duomo, or Cathedral, of Florence dominates the center of the city. The first stone was laid in 1296 and the dome was added between 1419 and Felippo Brunelleschi designed the dome. His new techniques for designing the dome combined Gothic methods of vaulting with classical Roman shapes, and his domes needed no external supports.
Looking at this picture, how can you tell that religion was an important part of life in Renaissance Florence?
(The Cathedral is the largest and tallest building in the city; it is also in the center of the city.)

2. Why did the Renaissance begin in the Italian city-states?
Chapter 12, Section 1
Focus Question
Why did the Renaissance begin in the Italian city-states?
BIG Idea
Beginning in Italy and spanning two centuries, the Renaissance emphasized secularism, awareness of ties to the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, and the ability of the individual. City-States became centers of political, economic, and social life. Machiavelli influenced political thought, and Castiglione defined what made a perfect Renaissance noble. The Renaissance affected everyone, from noble to peasant.
Ideas, Beliefs, and Values Between 1350 and 1550, Italian intellectuals believed they had entered a new age of human achievement.

3. The Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance lasted from 1350 to It was a time period in which Europeans believed they had witnessed a rebirth of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds.
Characteristics of the Renaissance:
The Renaissance was mainly led by an urban society, and Italian city-states came to dominate political, social, and economic life.
The Renaissance witnessed the rise of a secular viewpoint of wealth and material items.
The Italian Renaissance lasted from 1350 to It was a time period in which Europeans believed they had witnessed a rebirth of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. To them, this rebirth marked a new age.
Characteristics of the Renaissance:
The Renaissance was mainly led by an urban society, and Italian city-states came to dominate political, social, and economic life.
The Renaissance witnessed the rise of a secular, or worldly, viewpoint of wealth and material items.

4. The Renaissance occurred during a time of recovery from the disasters of the fourteenth century: the plague, political instability, and a decline of Church power.
The Renaissance also stressed the individual ability of human beings. Well-rounded individuals, such as Leonardo da Vinci, emphasized the belief that individuals could create a new social ideal.
The Renaissance occurred during a time of recovery from the disasters of the fourteenth century: the plague, political instability, and a decline of Church power. Recovery went hand in hand with a rebirth of interest in ancient culture.
The Renaissance also stressed the individual ability of human beings. Well-rounded individuals, such as Leonardo da Vinci, emphasized the belief that individuals could create a new social ideal.
Not all parts of Italian society were directly affected by these characteristics of the Italian Renaissance, indirectly however, all people were affected. The Renaissance was actively embraced by the wealthy upper class, and through their intellectual and artistic achievements, that were highly visible and hard to ignore as public buildings and wealthy homes became decorated with art that celebrated the characteristics, the Renaissance did have an impact on ordinary people.

5. Which Italian city-states did not have a sea coast?
**Milan and Mantua
What advantages could Venice have because of its location?
**It could trade in the East by land or sea.

6. With the lack of centralized power, Italian city-states such as Milan, Venice, and Florence played a crucial role in Italian economics and politics.
Milan’s location as a crossroads between the coastal Italian cities and the Alpine passes made it a very wealthy state.
In 1447, Francesco Sforza conquered Milan using an army of mercenaries. Sforza created wealth for the government by creating an efficient tax system.
With the lack of centralized power, Italian city-states such as Milan, Venice, and Florence played a crucial role in Italian economics and politics.
Italian city-states prospered from a flourishing trade that had expanded in the Middle Ages. Milan was one of the richest city-states in Italy. Milan’s location as a crossroads between the coastal Italian cities and the Alpine passes made it a very wealthy state.
In the 14th Century, members of the Visconti family established themselves as rulers of Milan. In 1447 the last Visconti ruler of Milan died and Francesco Sforza conquered Milan using an army of mercenaries. Sforza created wealth for the government by creating an efficient tax system.

7. Venice was also located in a strategic position, as a trading link between Asia and Western Europe.
In 1434, Cosimo de’ Medici and his family came to control Florence using their wealth and personal influence. Cosimo’s grandson Lorenzo de’ Medici later ruled the city.
Venice was also located in a strategic position, as a trading link between Asia and Western Europe. Venice’s trade empire was tremendously profitable and made Venice an international power.
In 1434, Cosimo de’ Medici and his family came to control Florence using their wealth and personal influence. Cosimo’s grandson Lorenzo de’ Medici later ruled the city. Florence grew to become the cultural center of Italy but suffered economic decline in the late 1400s. Most of the economy was based on manufacturing of cloth. Increased competition in other areas of Europe drove down profits. In 1498, after a series of power struggles, the Medici Family returned to power.

8. Spain became the dominant force in Italy.
Powerful monarchial states in Europe were attracted to the wealth of the Italian city-states, and in 1494 Charles VIII of France occupied Naples in southern Italy.
The Spanish replied to the Italian cries of assistance and engaged the French in a 30-year war on the Apennine Peninsula.
The turning point of the war came in 1527 when soldiers and mercenaries of Spain’s King Charles I, who had not been paid in months, sacked Rome.
Spain became the dominant force in Italy.
Powerful monarchial states in Europe were attracted to the wealth of the Italian city-states, and in 1494 Charles VIII of France occupied Naples in southern Italy. Northern Italian states turned to the Spanish for help.
The Spanish replied to the Italian cries of assistance and engaged the French in a 30-year war on the Apennine Peninsula.
The turning point of the war came in May of 1527 when soldiers and mercenaries of Spain’s King Charles I, who had not been paid in months, sacked Rome taking its treasures as payment of their services. The next day the invading forces smashed the gates and pushed into the city. The troops went berserk killing and looting. In the end, Charles I of Spain ended the Italian wars and Spain became the dominant force in Italy.

9. Imagine you
are a
Prince
or a
Princess....

10. Tell me this.... As a ruler, is it better to be feared or loved?
does the end always justify the means?
From The Prince, “one is obligated to look to the results of an action, and not to the means by which it was achieved.”

11. Machiavelli on Power
Niccolò Machiavelli wrote a book that influenced political thought in Italy and eventually all of Europe.
In his influential work, The Prince, Machiavelli wrote about how to acquire and hold political power. He stated that a ruler must put the state first and not focus on moral principles.
Machiavelli’s rejection of popular Christian values would have a profound influence on the political leaders who followed.
Niccolò Machiavelli wrote a book that influenced political thought in Italy and eventually all of Europe.
In his influential work, The Prince, Machiavelli wrote about how to acquire and hold political power. In contrast to writers in the Middle Ages who praised moral leaders with Christian values, Machiavelli stated that a ruler must put the state first and not focus on moral principles. Machiavelli believed morals had little to do with politics. Instead power must be based on an understanding of human nature, which he believed was basically self-centered.
Machiavelli’s rejection of popular Christian values would have a profound influence on the political leaders who followed.

12. Moral Conduct
Moral Conduct

13. Renaissance Society
Despite being the minority, nobles dominated sixteenth-century Europe during the Renaissance.
Peasants continued to make up the bulk of European society but were gaining more independence during the Renaissance.
The growing numbers of townspeople were segregated into social groups based on income levels.
The family bond provided a great deal of security to Renaissance-era Italians. As in many societies, a dowry was required in marriage contracts.
Despite being the minority (2-3% of the population) and facing declining income prior to the Renaissance, nobles dominated sixteenth-century Europe during the Renaissance.
Peasants continued to make up the bulk of European society (85-90% of the population) but were gaining more independence during the Renaissance.
The growing numbers of townspeople were segregated into social groups based on income levels.
Patricians dominated the social and economic aspect of urban areas.
Below them were the burghers, followed by the poverty-stricken workers and the unemployed whose population increased dramatically in the late 1300s and the 1400s.
The family bond provided a great deal of security to Renaissance-era Italians. Marriages were carefully arranged to strengthen business or family ties. Often the details would be worked out when the children were only 2 or 3 years old. As in many societies, a dowry was required in marriage contracts.
In Renaissance Italy, the father was the head of the household in charge of everything from financed to decisions that determined his children's lives. Children were under their fathers control until their father died or until he went before a judge to formally free them. Freedom usually occurred when children were between their early teens and late 20s.

14. What characterizes Renaissance art, such as da Vinci’s Mona Lisa?
Chapter 12, Section 2
Focus Question
What characterizes Renaissance art, such as da Vinci’s Mona Lisa?
BIG Idea
During the Renaissance, humanism revived interest in the literary works of ancient Greece and Rome and in classical Latin. While many scholars used classical Latin, writers such as Dante and Chaucer made literature written in regional languages more popular. Humanism also became an educational curriculum, and at the core of humanist schools were the liberal studies. The art, sculpture, and architecture of the Renaissance reflected a realistic, human-centered world.
Ideas, Beliefs, and Values Humanism was an important intellectual movement of the Renaissance and was reflected in the works of Renaissance artists.

15. Italian Renaissance Humanism
A key intellectual movement of the Renaissance was humanism.
Petrarch believed that intellectuals had a duty to live an active civic life and put their study of the humanities to the state’s service.
The humanist emphasis on classical Latin led to an increase in the writings of scholars, lawyers, and theologians.
The Italian author Dante and the English author Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in vernacular, making vernacular literature very popular.
A key intellectual movement of the Renaissance was humanism.
Humanists studied grammar, rhetoric, poetry, moral philosophy, and history.
Petrarch, considered to be the father of Italian Renaissance humanism, did more than any other individual in the 14th Century to foster the development of humanism.
Prior to the Italian Renaissance humanist movement, intellectuals usually led a life of solitude rejecting family and community life. Petrarch believed that intellectuals had a duty to live an active civic life and put their study of the humanities to the state’s service.
The humanist emphasis on classical Latin led to an increase in the writings of scholars, lawyers, and theologians.
The Italian author Dante and the English author Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in vernacular (the language spoken in their own regions, such as Italian, French, or German), making vernacular literature very popular.

16. Renaissance Education
The humanist movement led to changes in education.
Humanists believed that individuals could attain wisdom and virtue by studying liberal studies. Physical education was also emphasized.
Liberal Studies: history, moral philosophy, eloquence, letters, poetry, mathematics, astronomy, and music.
The goal of humanist educators was to create complete citizens, not great scholars.
The humanist movement led to changes in education.
Humanists believed that education could dramatically change human beings.
At the core of humanist schools were the liberal studies; Humanists believed that individuals could attain wisdom and virtue by studying liberal studies. Physical education was also emphasized.
Liberal Studies: history, moral philosophy, eloquence (or rhetoric), letters (grammar and logic), poetry, mathematics, astronomy, and music.
The goal of humanist educators was to create complete citizens who would follow a path of virtue and wisdom, not great scholars. Humanist education was a preparation for life and Humanist schools eventually became the model for the education of Europe’s ruling classes until the 12th century.
Females were largely absent from these schools, women, it was believed, needed only religion and morals to become good wives and mothers.

17. Renaissance Art
Renaissance artists sought to imitate nature through a human-focused worldview.
Realistic portrayal of the individual, especially nude depictions, became one of the chief aims of Italian Renaissance art.
Renaissance artists sought to imitate nature through a human-focused worldview.
Realistic portrayal of the individual, especially nude depictions, became one of the chief aims of Italian Renaissance art.

18. (I wonder where these turtles got their names?)
Advances in understanding human movement and anatomy led to advances in Renaissance sculpture and architecture.
The final era of Italian Renaissance painting (1490 to 1520) is known as the High Renaissance and is associated with Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
(I wonder where these turtles got their names?)
Advances in understanding human movement and anatomy led to advances in Renaissance sculpture and architecture.
The final era of Italian Renaissance painting (1490 to 1520) is known as the High Renaissance and is associated with Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo.

19. Leonardo da Vinci mastered the art of realistic painting and sought to advance to idealized forms of nature and humans.
Leonardo da Vinci mastered the art of realistic painting, he even went as far as to dissect a human body to see how nature worked. His work went beyond reality and sought to advance and idealize forms of nature and humans. His work was perfection, something that nature could never fully express.

20. Raphael was a well known artist for his paintings of the madonna
Raphael was a well known artist for his paintings of the madonna. His works reveal a world of balance, harmony, and order.
Raphael was a well known artist for his paintings of the madonna (the Virgin Mary). His works reveal a world of balance, harmony, and order.

21. Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, and architect
Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, and architect. His depictions of idealized humans are meant as a reflection of divine beauty.
Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, and architect. His depictions of idealized humans are meant as a reflection of divine beauty. He worked with passion to complete a large number of projects, the most famous being the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.